2009 Nissan Altima 2.5 Sl on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Renault-Nissan zero-emissions car sales whir past 100,000 [w/video]

The electric vehicle has gone gold at Renault-Nissan, clocking 100,000 sales in a three-year period that began with the first Nissan Leaf being sold in Silicon Valley, California in 2010. Since then, the Leaf has become the EV champion of the world, selling more than 71,000 units so far, the majority of those in the US. The 100,000th EV sold by the Alliance was also a Leaf and also sold in the US, but on the other side of the country, in Georgia.
By comparison, Renault has sold 30,000 electric vehicles since late 2011, looking after other segments of the EV market with the Kangoo Z.E., Zoe, Twizy and Fluence Z.E. The alliance estimates that its efforts have been driven 5.2 million ion-powered miles and saved 14 million gallons of oil since they appeared. For a bit of sobering context, the US averaged 18.83 million barrels of oil per day in 2011, which is almost 791 million gallons. Per day.
So we're getting there, albeit slowly. Quietly. There's a press release and a video below with more details on the achievement.

Nissan e-NV200 electric taxi comes to Amsterdam

Amsterdam's Taxi Electric liked its two-plus years with an all-Nissan Leaf electric vehicle fleet so much that it just got bigger, or at least with its vehicle choice. The company, which says it's the first private-taxi outfit to boast an all-electric fleet, is going to start adding Nissan e-NV200 electric compact vans to its stable of vehicles. The company started out with its Leaf fleet in late 2011 and has since put about a million miles on the 25 EVs. Nissan said in January that the new electric van will start being tested by FedEx here in the state and it has already been put through the wringer by FedEx in Singapore, Japan and Germany. Last September, Nissan said it was in the "final development phase" of the electric compact van and would start selling it to the public this year, though it wasn't real specific with details. That month, it was also announced that the vehicle, which uses the same drivetrain as the Leaf, would go into taxi service in Barcelona sometime this year. Nissan representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for more details on when the model would start public sales, how much it would cost and what it's single charge range is. Until we hear back, you can check out the official press release below. This summer Taxi Electric becomes the first taxi company in Amsterdam to adopt the zero-emission Nissan e-NV200 Taxi Electric first 100% Nissan LEAF fleet since November 2011 Pioneering Amsterdam-based company have covered 1.5 million km demonstrating Nissan EVs' quality and reliability AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Taxi Electric will be the first private taxi company to add the new 100-percent electric Nissan e-NV200 taxi to its green-energy zero-emission fleet. The combination of Nissan's innovative zero-emission technology, in the form of the 100-percent electric Nissan LEAF, and Taxi Electric's ground-breaking city transportation model have been a recipe for success since the start of operation in 2011. Now the two companies have teamed up again to build on this success and take the next step forward by introducing the game-changing all-electric Nissan e-NV200 taxi this summer. Amsterdam-based Taxi Electric operates a fleet of 25 Nissan LEAF vehicles. It was the first private taxi service to switch to a fleet of 100% electric taxis in 2011. The Dutch company's fleet of Nissan LEAFs has now amassed a trouble-free 1.5 million km in taxi operations – proof of the electric vehicle's high quality and reliability.

Datsun previews new budget sedan for Russia [w/video]

Nobody does cars on the cheap quite like the Renault-Nissan Alliance. The former part of the equation already has its Dacia brand of cost-effective, no-frills vehicles that have become a favorite of Top Gear co-host James May, and last summer, the latter revived its Datsun nameplate for a budget brand of its own.
The reborn Datsun launched in India this past July with its Go hatchback, returned in September with the Go+ minivan and revealed the Redi-Go concept just last month. And now it's given us our first look at an upcoming budget sedan developed specifically for the Russian market.
The as-yet unnamed vehicle (which we'll bet will incorporate the word "go" into its nameplate somehow) is set to debut on April 4, where it will launch the Datsun brand in Russia. Few details are available at this point, but the low-cost sedan was designed in Japan to offer Russian drivers "an engaging driving experience, peace of mind ownership and accessibility at the right and transparent price, with a competitive Total Cost of Ownership."